TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................................................2 QUESTION ONE............................................................................................................................1 a) Calculation of the ratios...........................................................................................................1 b) Financial performance of both the companies........................................................................2 c) Limitations of the analysis.......................................................................................................5 QUESTION TWO...........................................................................................................................6 a) Calculation of the Weighted Average Cost of Capital and Book value weighted average cost of capital of Art Co......................................................................................................................6 b) Circumstances where the weighted average cost of capital of company could be used in the investment appraisal techniques and limitations as discount rate...............................................8 QUESTION THREE.......................................................................................................................9 Objectives of the working capital management and central role of working capital in financial management.................................................................................................................................9 REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12
QUESTION ONE a) Calculation of the ratios Profitability ratioGreen PlcBlue Plc Employed Capital (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)32952559 Net operating profit491290 Return on capital employed Net operating profit/Employed Capital14.90%11.33% Cost of Sales16362316 Sales32723860 Gross Margin Total Sales - COGS/Total Sales50.00%40.00% Net profit173191 Sales32723860 Net profit ratio Operating Income/ Net Sales5.29%4.95% Investor RatiosGreen PlcBlue Plc Net Income173191 Shareholder's Equity11952359 Return on Equity Net Income / Shareholder's Equity14.48%8.10% Net Assets11952359 Sales32723860 Asset Turnover Ratio Net Income / Shareholder's Equity36.52%61.11% Efficiency RatiosGreen PlcBlue Plc Inventory27389 1
Trade Receivables478322 Cost of Sales173191 Sales32723860 Inventory turnover ratioSales / Inventory0.632.15 Account receivable turnover ratio Sales / Accounts Receivable6.8511.99 Gearing RatioGreen PlcBlue Plc Debt2100200 Equity11952359 Debt equity ratioDebt/ Equity1.7570.085 Interest cover ratioGreen PlcBlue Plc Operating profit491290 Interest Expenses25024 Interest cover ratio Operating profit / Interest Expense1.9612.08 b) Financial performance of both the companies Profitability of the company Return on capital employed The ratio is used for identifying the efficiency of the management to utilise the resources of company for generating returns. It could be evaluated that the ROCE of Green plc is 14.90% and of Blue plc is 11.33%. From the above ratios it could be evaluated that the management of Green is highly efficient in utilising the existing resources of the company to generate returns. Higherreturnshowshighereffectivenessofthemanagementtoutilisetheresourcesin generating the returns. Gross Profit Margin The ratio is used for measuring the ability of company to generate profits after meeting the costs of production or manufacturing. It is the amount left with company after meeting the cost of sales to carry out further business operations of company. Gross profit margin of green plc is 50% where of Blue plc is 40%. It could be analysed that Green is more efficient in generating higher profits by effectively managing the cost of operations of business. 2
Paraphrase This Document
Need a fresh take? Get an instant paraphrase of this document with our AI Paraphraser
Net Profit Margin Net profit is an important profitability ratio that is used by the managers to assess the returns or profit generated by carrying out the business. It is essential for the business to earn sufficient for running the company as well as for growth. Net profit margin of Green plc is 5.29% and of Blue plc is 5.95%. It could be analysed that net profit of Green plc is higher and shows that company is effectively managing the costs to generate returns(Rakićević and et.al., 2016). However the returns of companies are not adequate they are required to develop strategies to increase the profits and decrease costs. Investor Ratios Return on Equity It is an investor ratio used for measuring the efficiency of the management in generating returns over capital employed. Return on equity of Green plc is 14.48% and of Blue plc is 8.10%. ROE of Blue is lower than that of the Green plc. Lower ROE represents that company is not efficient in utilising the resources for generating returns over the capital employed. Investors are mainly concerned towards getting adequate returns over their investments in company. If company is not having adequate returns it will not be able to attract new investors. Blue plc is required to take effective steps for the business for increasing the returns of company. Lower return tends to decrease the market share of company and investors tend to shift towards companies with higher returns. Steps for improving the performance of company is required to be taken for controlling the costs. Assets Turnover Asset turnover ratio is used for measuring value of revenues or sales of company in relation to assets. Asset turnover ratio is used as indicator of efficiency of the management in using assets for generating assets. It is considered that higher the asset ratio higher is the efficiency of management in generating sales from the assets. Asset turnover ratio of Green plc is 36.52% where of Blue plc is having asset turnover of 61.11%. Investor after return on their investments is concerned with efficiency of the management in generating returns for the business using the existing assets of company. Asset ratio is higher of Blue is high which shows that management is more efficiently utilising the assets for generating revenues for company. Management has the ability of making effective utilisation of the assets however it is required to 3
be further increased by implementing new measures and strategies. To make effective allocation of the resources in the company Efficiency Ratios Inventory Turnover Ratio Inventory ratio measures the number of times inventory of company has been sold and replaced by the company during the given time period. The ratio enables management to make sound decisions on manufacturing, marketing, pricing and purchase of new inventory. Lower turnover shows that there are weaker sales and stocks are in excess and higher ratio implies that the stocks of company are lower and sales are stronger(Kourtis, Kourtis and Curtis, 2019). Inventory turnover ratio is 0.63 of Green plc and 2.15 of Blue plc. Management of Blue is more efficient in managing the inventory and generating sales. It could be analysed from the above ratio that company is company is efficient moving its inventory and with higher frequency. The strategies of the company are highly effective and enable the company to generate sales for the business and moving inventories faster. Company is having more growth prospects as it helps in maintain effective cash cycle. Accounts Receivable Turnover Ratio Receivables turnover measures efficiency of the company in collection of the credits granted to the customers. It also measures the number of times receivables of company are converted into cash within a year. It could be calculated as per requirement of company that is quarterly, half yearly or annually. Receivables turnover are 6.85 of Green plc and 12 of the Blue plc. From the above ratio it could be analysed that the collection of Blue is more frequent and stronger as compared with Green which is having lower turnover. It shows that Green is not efficient and strong in the collection of money from the customers for good given on credit. It gives higher credit to the customers to increase the revenues and sales. It is a strategy used by the companies for increasing their customer base and to provide the business with increased revenues and sales. Efficiency in collection of receivables is important for effectively managing the cash cycle and for meeting the working capital requirements Gearing Ratio The ratio is used for measuring the proportion of borrowed capital to equity. Gearing ratio of companies are 1.757 and 0.085. It could be seen that ratio of Green plc is higher as it uses more of the debts against its equity and where of Blue plc is only 0.085 which is 4
significantlylower. Capitalstructureof boththe companiesisinadequate.Higher debt represents higher financial risk in the company. Capital structure should be optimum where the cost of capital is minimum. Blue plc is having lower risk where financial risk is significantly high in the Green plc. Interest Cover Ratio Interest cover ratio is debt ratio used for identifying the ability of company to pay interest over the debts. It is used for determining the riskiness of the formula relative to the current debt or borrowings. Higher coverage ratio is suggested for the companies(Anwar, Marliani and Gunawan, 2016). In present case interest cover ratio of Green is 1.96 and of Blue is 12.08 which means it can pay interest 12 times from the available profits and Green could pay interest for only 1.96 times. From the above analysis it could be found that the Green plc is having returns and profits and less efficiency in managing the existing resources. On the other Blue is having lower returns and higher efficiency. From the investor point of view one should invest in Green plc to generate adequate returns on the investments. c) Limitations of the analysis For evaluating the performance and position of the company ratio analysis is used by the experts and analysts. It is a useful tool for analysing the working and efficiency of company that is not reflected directly by the financial statements of the enterprise. Though the tool is highly used by organisations there are also limitations of the analysis tool. It does not provide for changes or consideration for the movements due to inflation. There are possibilities that adjustments in the financial statements could be made for improving the ratios of business. Ratio analysis does not consider qualitative aspect of the business that affect the performance and position of company. Sometimes qualitative aspects are the major reasons behind change in performance whether positive or negative that is not reflected by the ratio analysis(Han, Song and Whang, 2020). Also there is no standard definition for the ratio. Due to the above limitations reliability and accuracy of the results and outcomes may be questioned. Apart from the above limitation, analysis of the liquidity position has not been performed by the company. Liquidity of the company is very essential to be analysed for ensuring that company is efficient in managing the cash flows and is having the ability to meet the obligations from the available current assets. Liquidity of the company is measured using current ratio and 5
Secure Best Marks with AI Grader
Need help grading? Try our AI Grader for instant feedback on your assignments.
quick ratio. It measures the ability of company in meeting the short term liabilities or obligations from the available current assets. It also reflects whether company is able to meet the working capital requirements or not. A company that is not having enough liquidity is having at high risk even if it seems to be profitable as without funds operations of the business could not be run successfully. Liquidity Ratios Liquidity RatioGreen PlcBlue Plc Current Assets751546 Current Liabilities73193 Inventory27389 Current Ratio Current assets / Current liabilities10.292.83 Quick Ratio Current assets - Inventory / Current liabilities6.552.37 It could be analysed that the liquidity position of both the companies is strong. However Green plc is having high current and quick ratio that shows significant amount of blocked funds in the company that could be utilised in earning short term returns and meeting working capital requirements. QUESTION TWO a) Calculation of the Weighted Average Cost of Capital and Book value weighted average cost of capital of Art Co. Calculation of costs Cost of Equity Face Value0.5 Market Price5.85 Beta1.15 Risk free return4% Equity Risk premium6% Corporation tax25% Cost of EquityRf +(Rm - 6
Rf)*Beta 4% + (6% * 1.15) 10.9% Cost of Debt Nominal Value100 Current Marker price103.5 Interest on loan6% Redemption after 6 years6% Corporation tax25% Cost of debtCoupon rate *(1-tax rate) 6%*(1-25%) 4.5% Computation of the weights of capital Weights of capitalBV weightsMV weights Equity Capital200(400*5.85)2340 Debt200(2*103.5)207 Total Capital4002547 Weight of equity0.50.92 Weight of Debt0.50.08 Computation of the WACC under Book value and Market value method Book Value WACC Type of CapitalAmount% of totalCost pre tax Cost after tax Weighted Cost Equity Value20050%10.9%10.9%5.5% Seller's note20050%6%4.5%2.3% WACC7.7% Market Value WACC Type of CapitalAmount% of totalCost pre tax Cost after tax Weighted Cost EquityValue234092%10.9%10.9%10.0% 7
(400*5.85) Seller'snote (2*103.5) 2078%6.0%4.5%0.4% WACC10.4% It could be evaluated that the cost of capital is different in both the methods. Cost of capital under book value weights is 7.7% and under market value is 10.4%. The difference between the two is due to the weights of debt and equity under both the approaches. In book value WACC weights are derived on the basis of nominal value of the equity and debt at which they are booked in the financial statements of the company. On the other, in market value WACC it could be seen that the weights are different as the value of equity and debt is considered on the basis of market value. Market value are generally higher than the book values that changes the proportion of debt and equity in terms of value thereby changing the whole cost of capital. WACC of company under market value is considered as more appropriate and reliable as it reflects the true cost of capital of company (Drobetz and et.al., 2018). Company is having significant amount of equity capital as against the equity. A company should have appropriate mix of the capital where cost of capital is least. As per the book value capital structure is adequate whereas per market value it is having equity capital. b) Circumstances where the weighted average cost of capital of company could be used in the investment appraisal techniques and limitations as discount rate. Weighted average cost of capital is the weighted average debt, equity and preference share cost and are weights are percentage of the capital sourced from every component in terms of market value. WACC is mainly used by investors and management for prompt decision making.Limitationsofthemethodareitsrestrictedscopeoftheapplicationandrigid assumptions to be taken for evaluating the projects. The WACC could be used as discount rate in the investment appraisal if the risk of investment project that is evaluated is equivalent or similar to current risk of investing firm. WACC then will be reflecting and representing average rate of return as compensation for the risks. It could be used for the investment appraisal if the business risks of proposed investments 8
Paraphrase This Document
Need a fresh take? Get an instant paraphrase of this document with our AI Paraphraser
are similar to business risks of the existing operations (Frank and Shen, 2016). It means that WACC could be used for evaluating the expansion of the existing business. If business risk of investment option is different from business risks of the existing operations than the discount rates that are project specific reflecting business risks of investment option are to be considered. Capital asset pricing model is also used by the analysts in the investment appraisals where financial risks of proposed investment are same as financial risk of the existing operations. It means that the financing for project to be raised in proportion that could broadly preserve capital structure of investing company. If case is different than this the investment appraisal technique known as adjusted present value is used. On the other CAPM computed specific project cost of capital could be adjusted for reflecting financial risks of project financing. Third constraint over using the WACC in the investment appraisal is that proposed investment option should be smaller as compared with size of company. If this was not case, scale of investment project can cause changes to occur in perceived risk of investing company making existing WACC inappropriate rate of discount. Comparison with the other investments is based on time value of money linked to risk of the future cash flows. WACC reflects risk to future cash flows that will be received by the organisation from the operations. Company with lower WACC are seen as having lower risks attached over the cash that will be generated in future. It is used as the discount rate as it is the cost which company pays for capital that is used for investing in operations. a company is aimed at achieving at least this much return from the proposed investments so that it could cover the costs of raising the funds for project (El Ghou and et.al., 2018). If the company is not able to achieve at least this return then the project is considered to be of high risk where company will be suffering losses. QUESTION THREE Objectives of the working capital management and central role of working capital in financial management Working capital management refers to the business strategy which is designed for ensuring that company is operating effectively by monitoring and by using the current assets and liabilities in the best possible manner. Primary purpose of the working capital management is of enabling company to have sufficient cash flows for meeting the short term operational costs and 9
the short term obligations(Afrifa and Padachi, 2016). Working capital of the company is derived by deducting current liabilities from the current assets. Primary objective of the working capital is to ensure that operating cycle of the business is smooth. Secondary objective is of optimizing level of the working capital and minimising cost of the funds. Major objective of the working capital in financial management is to help company in wealth maximisation and it could be gained by the profit maximisation along with sustainable development and growth of the business. Objectives of stakeholders should be aligned with growth of organisation. Objective of the working capital management is smooth flow of operating cycle. It implies that operating cycle from acquisition of raw materials to conversion in cash is smooth. It is a complex process. It requires that raw material is present on demand and does not lead to interruptions in production. Sale of the finished goods should be made at the earliest. Lowest working capital which refers current assets minus current liabilities. It aims at having optimum working capital as higher capital will lead to increased interest cost and where lower capital will lead to disturbance in the operating cycle. Another objective if the working capital management is minimising cost of capital or the interest costs. Costs that are used in the working capital are to be minimised for achieving higher profitability. Sources where the cost is minimum should be used (Le, 2019). Costs are also minimised using long term borrowings with proper mix. Working capital management also involves monitoring the cash flows, current liabilities and the current assets by ratio analysis. It is very essential for maintain smooth flow of the cash conversion cycle. It ensures that company takes minimum time to convert the current assets and liabilities to cash. It enables company to improve the profitability by efficient use of the resources. It also includes inventory management ensuring that inventory is moving fast and generating revenues for the business. Role of working capital in financial management Working capital is the part of total assets of company. It is difference between the current assets as well as current liabilities. It is required for meeting day to day operations of the business and it is essential that company is having enough funds for meeting the working capital requirements. In financial management working capital refers to process of management of short 10
term assets and the liabilities. Financial managers are required to ensure that there are enough funds for meeting the requirements of capital and running the operations smoothly. Working capital is required for running the activities and processes of the business effectivelywithout any interruptions. Financial Managershas to ensure that it maintains sufficient funds or current assets for meeting the requirements of working capital (Chen and Kieschnick,2018). If company is inefficient in managing the working capital company loses its effectiveness profitability. The interest cost of the company is also increased for securing the funds from outer sources. Efficiency of the working capital could be measured using various ratios. Company has significant amount of cash tied with the working capital so that effective management could will enable to take benefits from the additional liquidity and will not require to depend over the external financing sources. 11
Secure Best Marks with AI Grader
Need help grading? Try our AI Grader for instant feedback on your assignments.
REFERENCES Books and Journals Rakićević, A. and et.al., 2016. DuPont financial ratio analysis using logical aggregation. InSoft computing applications(pp. 727-739). Springer, Cham. Kourtis, E., Kourtis, G. and Curtis, P., 2019. Αn Integrated Financial Ratio Analysis as a NavigationCompassthroughtheFraudulentReportingConundrum:ΑCase Study.International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management.9(1-2).pp.3-20. Anwar, K., Marliani, G. and Gunawan, C.I., 2016. Financial ratio analysis for increasing the financial performance of the company at Bank Bukopin.IJSBAR.29(2).p.231236. Han, S., Song, K. and Whang, E., 2020. Financial ratio analysis of law firm's strategy and job satisfaction.International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior. Drobetz, W. and et.al., 2018. Policy uncertainty, investment, and the cost of capital.Journal of Financial Stability.39.pp.28-45. Frank, M.Z. and Shen, T., 2016. Investment and the weighted average cost of capital.Journal of Financial Economics.119(2).pp.300-315. El Ghoul, S.and et.al., 2018. Corporate environmental responsibility and the cost of capital: International evidence.Journal of Business Ethics.149(2). pp.335-361. Afrifa,G.A.andPadachi,K.,2016.WorkingcapitallevelinfluenceonSME profitability.Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development. Le,B.,2019.Workingcapitalmanagementandfirm’svaluation,profitabilityand risk.International Journal of Managerial Finance. Chen,C.andKieschnick,R.,2018.Bankcreditandcorporateworkingcapital management.Journal of Corporate Finance.48.pp.579-596. 12